Cornerstones, Inc. announced the establishment of the Cornerstones Professor in Residence at UTC. Andrew Smith, local educator, architect, and preservationist is the organization’s first professor to take on the role.
“This is a huge step forward to Cornerstones,” said Ann Gray, executive director of Cornerstones.
“We are now teaching the where’s and what for’s of preservation and the philosophical reasoning behind saving our past.”
Andrew Smith, AIA, has directed a local architectural firm for the past 35 years and has served as an educator at the secondary and university levels for more than 25 years.
“The future of historic preservation requires a commitment to an inclusive, national agenda for change,” said Mr. Smith. “Preservation professionals must acknowledge that in our rich, diverse national culture, the responsibility for identifying our future national treasures must rely on a consensus of many, not solely upon the rules of a few.”
Cornerstones has had a community partnership with the UTC interior design department for several years. Over the years Cornerstones has assisted in the senior theses course of preparing a historic structure report. Now through this partnership, the ability to reach a younger audience with the benefits of historic preservation exists.
“UTC's Interior Design masters' degrees focus on urban revitalization. The success of these programs are contingent on strong community partnerships. In 2009, when we entered into a partnership with Cornerstones, Inc., we never dared to dream that our partnership would grow to this level,” said Dana M. Moody Hellwig, PhD, ASID. “The UTC Cornerstones Professor in Residence will have a profound impact in creating, what I hope will be, a collection of design professionals armed with a passion for historic preservation and the skills to positively impact the urban fabric of our country.”
As school begins next week at UTC, the second semester of this course offering will be underway.